Caron In Paris, Lansbury In NY?
Apart from perennially playing productions of “West Side Story,” American musicals have never had much of an audience in Paris. So it will be interesting to see how well “A Little Night Music” does in the French capital next winter, when it has a one-week run at the Theatre du Chatelet. (You have to scroll down the Chatelet link to get the cast list.) Chief point of interest for Americans: Leslie Caron (left) will be playing Madame Armfeldt. My spies tell me that for that role in the Broadway-bound production of “Night Music,” to open in December, there’s serious talk of asking Angela Lansbury. (Even though the director, Trevor Nunn, cast the show on the young side in London, the NY production will need a name to sell the show beyond the Sondheimites.) I’m betting that Lansbury’s current Broadway show, “Blithe Spirit,” will have closed by then, and that “Night Music” will move into the Shubert, where “Blithe Spirit” is playing. Meaning that Lansbury, were she to assay Armfeldt, wouldn’t even have to change dressing rooms. Plus: “Night Music”‘s original 1973 production played the Shubert.
